Summary

Former McKinsey partner Martin Elling pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by destroying documents tied to McKinsey’s advice for Purdue Pharma on boosting OxyContin sales.

Elling helped devise strategies targeting “high-value” prescribers, including those involved in illegitimate opioid uses.

His plea follows McKinsey’s $650M settlement over its Purdue work and Purdue’s 2020 guilty plea for opioid-related misconduct.

Elling faces up to a year in prison, with sentencing set for April 4.

The case underscores accountability in the opioid crisis, which caused over 727,000 U.S. deaths since 1999.